There are 308 Individuals Ex-Al-Hol Camp Who Claim to be Indonesian, Foreign Affairs: We Verify

JAKARTA - The government will carry out verification gradually and carefully, taking into account strategic considerations for those who leave the Al-Hol Camp, Syria and claim to be from Indonesia.

The Al-Hol or Al-Hawl refugee camp located on the southern outskirts of the city of Al-Hawl in northern Syria, near the Syrian-Iraqi border, is known to have housed thousands of refugees, mostly children and women, associated with suspected members of the ISIS group from various countries.

Along with the takeover of the territory by the Syrian Government forces from the Kurdish forces last month, many refugees in Camp Al-Hol fled.

Last weekend, Syrian security authorities closed the Al-Hol Camp, which has long housed relatives of suspected ISIS fighters, after emptying the facility previously controlled by the Kurds.

"Based on the information we received from the Indonesian Embassy in Damascus, there are currently approximately 308 individuals associated with FTF (Foreign Terrorist Fighters) who claim to be from Indonesia," said Acting Director of Indonesian Protection of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heni Hamidah, in a press statement at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, Friday (27/2).

"I'm not saying that WNI, because this must be further verified," he said.

Furthermore, Heni said, for the time being they are currently being accommodated by a number of local families in Idlib and are being handled by UNHCR.

"And for further handling, the process of verifying the identity, the status of the national family, the level of radicalism of the individuals must certainly be carried out," explained Heni.

"Each stage will be carried out carefully by taking into account various strategic considerations, including consideration of security risks and possible legal processes," he said.

Previously, Heni said the government prioritized the process of deepening the citizenship status and knowing the level of radicalism of these individuals first.

"Based on the data and the results of the in-depth investigation, the decision to repatriate will be discussed further through cross-ministerial and inter-agency coordination after the verification of identity, citizenship status and security risks are completely clear, including the possibility of legal proceedings," said Heni to VOI.id.

Heni said the report of individuals claiming to be from Indonesia and leaving Al-Hol Camp came from the Indonesian Embassy in Damascus. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the FTF Task Force abroad has coordinated with the Ministry of Law to verify their citizenship and citizenship status."

Meanwhile, when asked whether Indonesia would repatriate those who were later identified as Indonesian citizens, the spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yvonne Mewengkang, said that the entire process was still ongoing.

"It's not a matter of wanting or not wanting, all of this process is still going on, many ministries are involved, so this is not a matter of Indonesia wanting or not wanting to repatriate, we wait for the update," explained Yvone, adding "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is part of various ministries and agencies that discuss this process."

Al-Hol, the largest refugee camp in eastern Syria, hosts tens of thousands of people, including Syrian internally displaced persons and family members of former fighters suspected of being involved in ISIS, UN News reported.

UN agencies have long warned that insecurity, overcrowding and limited services leave residents - many of them women and children - in a particularly vulnerable state.

The camp is run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The number of residents has dropped drastically from around 24,000 earlier this year, including around 6,000 foreign nationals suspected of being linked to former ISIS fighters, to around a few thousand, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

In detail, the number of people in Al-Hol Camp in January this year includes: 14,500 Syrians, 4,000 Iraqis, and around 6,200 people from various countries, with more than 95 percent of them being women and children, according to Save the Children.

The SDF maintained control of al-Hol during the last years of the al-Assad regime in Syria, which finally fell in December 2024.

Syrian government security forces entered Al-Hol Camp on January 21 to take control of the location.

Details and reports about how families and individuals left the camps, which at their peak in 2019 housed some 73,000 families, are conflicting.

In 2019, ISIS was defeated in Syria by a US-led coalition, which included the SDF. Al-Hol, located in Hasakah Province, was later established by the SDF after it seized most of northeastern Syria, with support from the US.